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Have you ever had the experience of your mind ceasing to spin during meditation?

Anecdotal evidence holds that meditators experience moments where it feels as if the mind simply stops, and is replaced by spaciousness, pure awareness, or some other ineffable experience. Despite hundreds of studies on meditation, previous research has not focused on whether or not meditation really helps with “monkey mind” (a term used by Buddhist scholars to describe the relentless spinning mind).

IONS President Cassandra Vieten spoke with Martin Wasserman on Future Talk, a cable TV show based in Silicon Valley that focuses on technology’s impact in the world. Cassi talked about the meaning of noetic science and the research IONS does to investigate the nature of consciousness, and its influence on human transformation and purpose. Cassi also offers a verbal glimpse of a developing experiment which explores the question: Can Virtual Reality enhance the healing capacity of the mind? Enjoy the conversation!

The recently released movie, Doctor Strange, is billed as science fiction, yet for the last four decades IONS has been at the forefront of scientific research on extraordinary human capacities. It may be surprising to learn that findings indicate that there is less fiction in the effects of some of these phenomenon than many might have assumed.

Interest in the study of consciousness is growing rapidly among the general population, but only recently has it made its way into mainstream higher education. In 2014, the University of Washington, Bothell campus, formally launched a transdisciplinary and integral Minor in Consciousness--the first of its kind at a public research institution in North America.

For our Spanish-speaking friends, here is a great article by Isabela Herranz about IONS and the pioneering research our scientists are doing in parapsychology, epigenetics, and the nexus of science and spirituality.

IONS scientists are working in collaboration with the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) as featured lecturers in the online PhD program in Integral and Transpersonal Psychology, headed by Glenn Hartelius of CIIS. Arnaud Delorme, Cassandra Vieten, Dean Radin, Helané Wahbeh, and Julia Mossbridge - now associated faculty at CIIS - have each contributed lectures to the foundational course on research methods and critical thinking.